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Summary 



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Timber-products industries rarik just behind farming 

 as one of the two major parts of Mississippi's 

 economy. 



Nearly one dollar out of every four dollars of income 

 received from private enterprise by the 2,100,000 peo- 

 ple in the State comes directly from timber products. 

 In 1946 the value of raw timber products was $122 

 million; further manufacture within the State added 

 $130 million in value. 



Direct employment in the harvesting and manufac- 

 ture of timber products totals some 68,000 man-years 

 annually. 



Forest acreage increased 2 percent during the 14 years 

 between the two Forest Surveys, but timber vol- 

 ume, quality, and size declined in most respects. 



Sawlog volume dropped a fourth in the whole State. 

 South Mississippi gained 3 percent; north Mississippi 

 lost 40 percent; central Mississippi, 25 percent; the 

 Delta, 29 percent. Volume of total growing stock 

 dropped about 10 percent; hardwoods did not change, 

 but softvv'ood fell off 20 percent. 



Nearly two-thirds of the sawlog timber is of grade 3 

 quality. One out of every four trees in the forest of 

 cordwood or larger size is a cull. 



Pine forests have been converted to hardwood for- 

 ests on 2.2 million acres. 



Numbers of softwood trees under 8 inches d. b. h. 

 increased; in all larger sizes, the numbers decreased. 

 Hardwoods increased up through 14 inches d. b. h., but 

 declined in all larger sizes. 



Use of the forest continues heavy. Despite declines in 

 some items, the total output of products has been 

 sustained for about three decades. This has been 

 done mainly by overcutting the forest; by using 

 smaller trees, poorer quality trees, and less desired 

 species than were formerly taken; and by expand- 

 ing the output of less exacting products, partic- 

 ularly pulpwood. 



The 1946 volume of all timber products in the round 

 or split piece was 473 million cubic feet — 239 million 

 in hardwood, 234 million in softwood. 



More than a fourth of the sawlog output in the past 

 14 years has been cut at the expense of timber growing 

 stock. 



Logging for pine on the average sawlog operation 

 removes nearly all trees over 12 inches d. b. h., and 

 almost three-fourths of the volume in 10- and 12-inch 

 trees. Pulpwood logging takes three-fourths of the 

 pine volume in 6- and 8-inch trees. 



Logging for hardwood on the average sawlog opera- 

 tion removes nearly all grade 1 timber, two-thirds of 

 the grade 2, and less than half the grade 3. 



Management on the 90 percent of the forest in private 

 ownership is generally poor, although most of the 

 large industrial holdings and some of the smaller 

 properties are under good management. 



Little more than a fourth of the forest held by Mis- 

 sissippi's 146,000 private forest landowners rates fair 

 or better in respect to management practices; nearly 

 three-fourths rates poor or worse. 



Unsupervised cutting occurs on more than half the 

 private forest. 



Owners of a tenth of the private forest install struc- 

 tures or equipment to aid in stopping woods fires. De- 

 spite recent gains. State fire protection is still extended 

 to only 51 counties out of 82. 



Owners of close to half the private forest do not 

 understand what timber management involves; most 

 of them do not recognize that their timber management 

 could be improved. 



The present outlook is for contraction in some of Mis- 

 sissippi's important wood-using industries unless 

 timber management improves rapidly. 



The prospect is that softwood lumber, standard 

 hardwood factory lumber, veneer, and tight cooperage 

 will be hit hardest, although softwood pulpwood and 

 other products may also be forced into decline. 



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